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The article examines the use of genetically engineered medication. Drugs like Herceptin, specifically tailored for a segment of sufferers who share genetic similarities, are poised to change the world of medicine--and the business of making drugs. Many big firms are also employing biotechs, such as Genaissance Pharmaceuticals of New Haven, to identify patients who will benefit from drugs that failed as remedies for broader populations, a process known as drug rescue. In March the FDA established a framework for reviewing and approving genetically prescribed drugs: It released a long-awaited set of guidelines governing how and when it is appropriate for drug companies to submit genetic data about clinical-trial patients as part of an application for new-drug approval. And in the aftermath of Merck's Vioxx recall and the FDA's recent request that Pfizer stop selling Bextra, drug safety is under more intense scrutiny too. As baby-boomers encounter the depredations of old age--especially boomers stricken with cancer and other hard-to-treat ailments like Alzheimer's and heart disease--they are clamoring for innovative treatments. Of course, as with any new technology, the promise of miracles can lead to inflated expectations, and even abuse and fraud. Clearly this is an area where fantasies about future possibilities will outstrip reality for some time to come.

Assesses the damage done to Merck by the withdrawal of Vioxx from the market. Decision made to recall the arthritis medicine Vioxx due to findings that users faced double the risk of heart attack and stroke; Impact of the recall on Merck's profits, stock performance, public relations, and risk of lawsuits; Emphasis of research chief Peter Kim on patient safety in the company's recall decision; View of Merck CEO Ray Gilmartin that the company will rebound from short-term losses; Impact of former chief scientist Edward M. Scolnick on the development of Vioxx; Potential long-term impact of the recall on Merck's public relations and profitability.

Discusses the economic recovery of pharmaceutical company, Eli Lilly. Business efforts of chief executive, Sidney Taurel, which helped the company succeed again financially; Performance of Lilly's stock since May of 2003; Effect that the loss of the patent protection on Prozac had on the company in 2001; Background of Taurel; History of the company. INSET: WILL SPITZER V. GLAXO GIVE PROZAC A LIFT?.

The article focuses on Amgen chief executive officer, Kevin Sharer, and his management strategy. Since taking charge in April 2000, he has focused on radically remaking the Thousand Oaks, Calif., company while attempting not to upset its cherished biotech roots, a tricky balancing act that has created new stresses even as it has fixed old problems. The makeover embraces every aspect of Amgen's business, and has ushered in new people, new partners, and a new approach to the product pipeline. During the past three years, for example, Sharer has recruited a host of execs from buttoned-down pharmaceutical firms like Merck and Eli Lilly. And one of the most prominent new hires, whip-smart R&D chief Roger Perlmutter, has borrowed from the Big Pharma playbook to install a "command and control" approach to drug discovery that seeks to marry the free-form creativity of biotechs with the more traditional, calculating approach of their older rivals in the drug business. It's a new model--one that's being tested every day. But Amgen had no choice except to change. The biotech coasted through muchof the 1990s, living off the nearly $17 billion in sales generated by two blockbuster drugs it had launched at the start of the decade, the protein-based injectable drugs Epogen and Neupogen. With healthy profit margins, Amgen was converting plenty of those revenues into cash but very little of its R&D spending into the new products it needed to juice its easing growth. While overall R&D spending has doubled over the past decade, the number of new molecular entities launched has dropped by a third, according to the Center for Medicines Research.

Presents brief descriptions of five drug stocks that could be winners. Background on the fall in the American Stock Exchange pharmaceutical index since January 2001; Reasons why drug stocks have lagged behind other stocks; Signs that drugmakers' problems may be on the wane and the market is set to improve; Stock picks: Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Amgen, Teva and Icos.

Reports on the campaign of U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan against corruption in the drug industry. Collection of more than $2.2 billion dollars in fines to settle suits for kickbacks to doctors, overcharging, and marketing drugs for unapproved uses; Statistics on the cost of medical care fraud; Charges against TAP Pharmaceuticals, Bayer, GlaxoSmith Kline, AstraZeneca, Pfizer; Background of Sullivan and his team; Role of the public in the investigations; Whistleblower settlements; Available options for punishment. INSET: Strong Medicine.

Profiles Fred Hassan and his role as chief executive at the pharmaceutical company Shering-Plough. His campaign to restore employee confidence; Consideration of Hassan's management style; Production of Claritin, the allergy medicine, by the company; Importance of communication in business; Impact of cultural differences on business relationships; Efforts of Hassan to set Shering apart from other pharmaceutical manufacturers.

It is somewhat disconcerting that Nancy K. Bryan knows more about how men regard their penises than any person the author ever met. Outside of locker-room humor and barstool bragging, most men have a difficult time talking about sex. And it is worse when the topic turns to impotence. As Bayer Corporation's vice president of marketing for men's health products, Bryan is trying to incite a kind of social revolution among men by getting them to open up about their sexual health. This is the only way she will be able to achieve her company's goal of unseating Viagra as the world's premier impotence drug by 2005. Her team has joined forces with peers at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and will begin co-marketing a new impotence drug called Levitra in 2003. Although Viagra is the most widely recognized drug brand of the 1990s, Bayer and GSK are banking on the fact that in the pharmaceutical industry there is no such thing as first-mover advantage. Bryan believes she knows how to get men to ask for help with their erectile dysfunction--and to ask for Levitra. Her insights into the male psyche are culled from a compendium of Bayer/GSK-commissioned clinical studies and market surveys.

A clutch of Pentagon officials sat around a conference table on the 30th floor of Pfizer's Manhattan headquarters last month, firing questions at David Shedlarz, the chief financial officer (CFO). They had come seeking strategic advice--in recent years the U.S. Department of Defense has been quietly calling on some of the nation's largest companies to glean ideas on how to streamline the Pentagon. The officials visiting Shedlarz wanted him to explain how the world's largest drug company has managed to grow and prosper despite its size. Since his company announced its acquisition of Pharmacia last July--a$ 60 billion deal--Shedlarz has spent his days and nights orchestrating the combination.

Discusses the cholesterol-lowering drug atorvastatin calcium, or Lipitor, invented by Bruce Roth, vice president of chemistry at Pfizer. Possibility that the drug will become the world's first $10-billion-a-year drug; Sales of Lipitor in 2002; Market share that Lipitor has in the class of statin drugs; Outlook for the statins market; Patent protection for the drug until 2009; Pfizer's entry into the cholesterol-reduction field; Marketing that Pfizer used to promote Lipitor; Efforts of Akira Endo of the Sankyo drug company to create a cholesterol-lowering drug in the 1970s; Involvement of P. Roy Vagelos, chief scientist at Merck, in the development of cholesterol-lowering drugs; Questions about the safety of statins; Additional information about the history of Lipitor.

Reports on manufacturing problems at pharmaceutical company Schering-Plough. Alexis Milmine's experience with asthma medication from Schering-Plough which lacked its active ingredient; Her complaints to the U.S. Justice Dept. and her congressman which led to an invitation to appear at congressional hearings; U.S. Food and Drug Administration investigations which found quality problems at Schering's plants.

Focuses on drug company Merck's outlook for earnings growth and its chief executive officer Ray Gilmartin. Details of research and development (R&D) on breakthrough drugs at Merck, which attracts leading biochemists and engineers; Mention of the arthritis pain reliever, Arcoxia, the cholesterol medicine, Zetia, and Substance P, a drug to prevent nausea and vomiting in chemotherapy patients; Status of Merck's stock, profits, and R&D investment; Outlook for new drugs.

Addresses United States immigration policy and the role of Dr. Juan Hernandez, head of the Office for Mexicans Living abroad. Conflict between the global economy and efforts to limit immigration since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks; U.S. economic dependency on immigration; Efforts of Hernandez to increase the number of legal U.S. residents of Mexican ancestry; Mexican President Vicente Fox's opinion on U.S. immigration laws.

Focuses on Palm Inc., maker of handheld computer devices. How their product has become a pop icon; Growth of the company, which has diminished; Inventory problems; How founders Jeff Hawkins and Donna Dubinsky resigned and formed rival Handspring; Management under chief executive officer Carl Yankowski; Competition from Microsoft in the software and hybrid-device market; New markets for the company.

Explores the dominant presence of African-Americans in professional sports and its effects on other African-Americans. Number of African-Americans that feel that they or their children could earn a living playing professional sports; Why this feeling may be detrimental to African-Americans; The preference for athletic aptitude over academic; The reverence for athletes, such as baseball player Ronnie Fields; Criticism of African-American athletes

Examines how a number of hard-driving American businesses continue to race as the economy slows. Importance of technology in the economy in 1995; List of the companies that have been stellar performers during the economic expansion and have excelled in profit growth, sales growth had average return on equity; Details on Creative Technology, AGCO Corp., Nine West Group, Homedco Group and others.

Offers a look at some of the cutting-edge software programs that will change the way Americans live and work. Groupware, such as Lotus Notes, which allow groups of workers to collaborate on documents and projects; Personal productivity programs such as Microsoft's Bob; Small business programs; Personal banking offerings including Quicken; Multimedia; Online. INSET: Microsoft's next big winner (Windows 95), by Mary Kathleen Flynn.

Al Gore, George W. Bush and almost everybody in Washington oppose them. So why are Net taxes inevitable? Simple: There's half a billion dollars at stake. They fought over Social […]

From a security maven, a new book on how to think like a hacker. Secrets and Lies: Digital Security in a Networked World by Bruce Schneier (Wiley, $29.99) In April […]

From viruses to ecosystems, biological metaphors have ruled the Internet. It's time to evolve. Not so long ago it was common for high-minded 'Netheads' to spout theories about the Internet's […]

The article examines the effort by the state of Louisiana to convince insurance companies to issue policies there. This is a difficult task after insurers paid over $25 billion in claims to Louisiana policyholders after Hurricane Katrina. Jim Donelon, the state insurance commissioner, travels extensively to meet with insurance executives, so far without success. Insurance is still available in the state, but higher prices for policies are hindering the recovery effort in New Orleans. INSET: THE NEW POLITICS OF INSURANCE.